Purism, which develops the Librem 5 smartphone and the free PureOS distribution, library release , which develops a set of widgets and objects for creating a user interface for mobile devices using GTK and GNOME technologies. The library is developed in the process of porting GNOME applications for the user environment of the Librem 5 smartphone.
Project Code licensed under GPL 2.1+. In addition to supporting applications in the C language, the library can be used to create mobile versions of the application interface in Python, Rust and Vala.
Currently included in the library 24 widgets covering various typical interface elements such as lists, panels, edit boxes, buttons, tabs, search forms, dialog boxes, etc. The proposed widgets allow you to create universal interfaces that function seamlessly both on large screens of PCs and laptops, and on small touch screens of smartphones. The application interface dynamically changes depending on the screen size and available input devices.
The key goal of the project is to provide the ability to work with the same GNOME applications on smartphones and PCs. The software filling for the Librem 5 smartphone is based on the PureOS distribution, which uses the Debian package base, the GNOME desktop and the GNOME Shell adapted for smartphones. The use of libhandy allows you to connect a smartphone to a monitor to get a typical GNOME desktop based on a single set of applications. Applications translated to libhandy include: GNOME Calls (Dialer), gnome-bluetooth, GNOME Settings, GNOME Web, Phosh (Dialer), Daty, PasswordSafe, Unifydmin, Fractal, Podcasts, GNOME Contacts and GNOME Games.
Libhandy 0.0.10 is the last preview before forming the major 1.0 release. The new release introduces several new widgets:
- - adaptive replacement of the GtkStackSwitcher widget, which allows you to automatically generate the layout of tabs (views) depending on the screen width. Larger screens place icons and titles on the same line, while smaller screens use a compact layout that displays the title below the icon. For mobile devices, the block of buttons is moved to the bottom.
- - a container for displaying the panel, taking into account the available size, if necessary, getting rid of details (for wide screens, a full title bar is placed to switch tabs, and if there is not enough space, a widget is displayed that imitates the title, and the tab switcher is moved to the bottom of the screen);
- - implementation of an extended panel similar to GtkHeaderBar, but designed for use in an adaptive interface, always centered and completely filling the header area in height;
- - adaptive version of the window for setting parameters with the division of settings into tabs and groups;
Of the improvements related to the adaptation of GNOME applications for use on a smartphone, it is noted:
- The interface for receiving and making calls (Calls) uses the PulseAudio loopback module to pair the modem and the device's audio codec in ALSA when a call is activated and unload the module after the call ends;
- The text messaging program (Messaging) implements an interface for viewing the history of chatting. The SQLite DBMS is used to store the history. Added the ability to verify the account, which is now checked through the connection to the server, and in case of failure a warning is displayed;
- The XMPP client supports the exchange of encrypted messages through the use of a plugin with the implementation of the end-to-end encryption mechanism . A special indicator has been added to the panel, indicating whether encryption is used in the current chat or not. Also added is the ability to view identification snapshots, one's own or another chat participant;
- GNOME Web features the new Libhandy 0.0.10 widgets, making it possible to adapt the configuration interface and browser panel for mobile screens.
Source: opennet.ru